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Airport served by:

Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport (VRA)

When WestJet flies to this destination:

Year-round service

In Varadero, there are endless sugar-white sand beaches, palm trees swaying in the breeze, a warm turquoise ocean and a thatched palm umbrella hut with your name on it. You’ll even find giant conch shells lying on the beach.

Varadero is best suited for those who are looking for some rest and relaxation in the sun, particularly vacation hunters seeking the all-inclusive resort experience. Families with young children, couples getting married or honeymooning and groups of friends all love coming to this relaxing beach destination. In fact, varadero is Spanish for “to rest, repair or reconstruct.”

Cuba’s premiere beach destination, Varadero is on the long, skinny Hicacos Peninsula and is technically an island on the northwest coast of Cuba. If you keep heading north, you’ll hit Florida. It is 140 km east of capital city Havana (about a two-hour drive away).

Twenty kilometres long and only one kilometre wide, Varadero sprawls with 60-plus big hotels, most all-inclusive resorts. It’s flat, filled with scrubby brush, palm trees and dense mangrove, all framed by the shimmering sea glowing in the distance. The Bahía de Cárdenas is on the south side. The Gulf of Mexico and all of the resorts are to the north. A wide autopista (highway) goes up and down the length of the city. Resorts are clustered on the east side, becoming progressively fancier as you head east. The town of Varadero itself is to the west.

An island archipelago, Cuba is famous for its stunning beaches, with Varadero considered its crown jewel. Varadero has been a popular vacation and resort destination since as early as the 1870s.

Varadero today is a small, sleepy resort town, but it has a rather glamorous past. Before the Cuban Revolution, Hollywood starlets and casino high-rollers used to vacation here. Al Capone even owned a home here, which is now a seafood restaurant.

Cuba’s only 18-hole golf course is located in Varadero. Also nearby is the city of Matanzas, home to a vibrant Afro-Cuban music and dance scene. There’s exceptional diving – especially for shipwrecks – birding, fishing, water sports and a huge everglades area to the south filled with crocodiles.

From Varadero, you can also easily make the trip to Havana to see some authentic Cuban culture. Or just sit back and enjoy this fun-in-the-sun beach destination.